Snails!!

[framerguy]

and its cool to see something "rare" happen in my tank

.
It is rare from my research! enjoy it. sounds like some are gonna make it, how cool is that?!

[Triggerjay]

Framerguy, feel free to use any of my photos in any future publications, etc if you wish. I meant to tell you that earlier and forgot. Thanks

Jason

[framerguy]

Snails:volume 3

Mobile Invertebrates fascinate me. I've been doing a lot of research on them and would like to share it in a series of articles. The information given here has been gathered from many sources and from my personal experiences. Sources include: Marine reef aquarium handbook by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein, Marine invertebrates by Dr. Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D., The Reef Aquarium volume 3 by Delbeek and Sprung, liveaquaria.com, marinedepotlive.com, pacificeastaquaculture.com. The photos in this post are NOT mine. I will post three animals per volume and will try to only cover animals typically offered in the aquarium trade as there are 125,000 known species of snails!

Shelled snails belong to the Class Gastropoda (gastro-poda- stomach foot)

All use calcium to build their shells, so calcium levels in aquariums containing prosobranch (shelled) gastropods should be in the 380-450 range.

All invertebrates are extremely sensitive to changes in water chemistry and must be acclimated very slowly. A drip line acclimation of a minimum two hours is critical for long life. Dr. Shimek recommends 5 to 10 hours of acclimations for snails.

most of the sources agree that one to two snails per 3 to 5 gallons is sufficient. A variety of snails is better than one species to ensure all of the jobs they do get done.

For each snail listed I will give a Genus and common name, maximum size (Sz), minimum tank size (MTS), food and feeding (FF), Reef Compatibility (RC), and care notes.

Snails covered in Volume 1 included: Cirith, Astraea, Nassarius
Volume 2: Margarita snails, Tonga snails, bumblebee snails
Volume 3: Abalone, Trochus , Nerite
Volume 4: will include fighting conch, and cone snails


Haliotis sp. (Abalone)
Sz: 3” generally (.8-7.5”)
MTS: 50g
FF: Wholly herbivorous
RC: good reef inhabitant, harmless
Hailing from the Indo-Pacific, Abalones are wholly herbivorous active grazers that need a tank with a good growth of various algae and diatoms. Very effective at removing detritus as well. Will not tolerate changes in salinity, needs very long acclimation and full strength sea water 36-37ppt. The foot attaches very firmly so use care when removing from glass.


Trochus sp. (generally called Turban, also,top shell)
Sz: up to 1” in aquariums, 3” in wild
MTS: 1gal
FF: algae, cyan bacteria, diatoms and film algaes on
glass, mainly hair algae
RC: Beneficial, harmless
From Tropical Seas, they need good lighting to sustain algae growth. Very long lived in aquariums with proper acclimation. Add a few at a time, will starve if overstocked. Shell often with spiral ridges, radial ridges, bumps or a combination. May be very colorful or drab. Will not eat macro algae.

Nerita sp. (nerite)
Sz: 1” in aquarium, 1 ½ “ wild
MTS: 1 gal.
FF: Microalgae, cyanobacteria & diatoms
RC: common and beneficial
There are many types of Nerita snails and all graze on algae. They are nocturnal and since they are creatures of tide pools, they will move above water levels and possibly even leave the tank. Shell are rounded and low with several distinct folds. With sufficient food they will lay many eggs on aquarium wall. Survival of larvae is unusual but has occurred.

[vdituri]

More great info!
Keep em coming!
Edu-karma to you!

[framerguy]

This is the fourth and last volume (by me) on snails. To read my reference list see volume 1. There are over 125,000 known species of snails and I have tried to limit my information to varieties commonly offered in the aquarium trade. This volume deals with one beneficial variety, then speaks about a dangerous genus SW aquarists should be aware of: cone snails.

Shelled snails belong to the Class Gastropoda (gastro-poda- stomach foot)

All use calcium to build their shells, so calcium levels in aquariums containing prosobranch (shelled) gastropods should be in the 380-450 range.

All invertebrates are extremely sensitive to changes in water chemistry and must be acclimated very slowly. A drip line acclimation of a minimum two hours is critical for long life. Dr. Shimek recommends 5 to 10 hours of acclimations for snails.

most of the sources agree that one to two snails per 3 to 5 gallons is sufficient. A variety of snails is better than one species to ensure all of the jobs they do get done.

For each snail listed I will give a Genus and common name, maximum size (Sz), minimum tank size (MTS), food and feeding (FF), Reef Compatibility (RC), and care notes.

Snails covered in Volume 1 included: Cirith, Astraea, Nassarius
Volume 2: Margarita snails, Tonga snails, bumblebee snails
Volume 3: Abalone, Trochus , Nerite
Volume 4: will include fighting conch, and cone snails


Strombus alatus, Strombus sp. (fighting conch)
SZ: up to 4”
MTS: 100 gal
FF: herbivorous. Grazes on all sorts of algae
RC: A good grazer, harmless
Despite its name the Fighting Conch is a peaceful species and not aggressive. It moves with a lurching hop if threatened. It needs a lot of light to support good algae growth as this snail needs lots of food. It will starve if there are other herbivores sharing their sand, which they also need lots of. They often bury themselves in the sand for a week or more. Hermit crabs will kill and eat them. This is a good snail but needs lots of room and food so be aware before purchasing this creature. I will also include the Strombus Gigas (the Queen Conch) here as it’s characteristics are similar but it can reach 16” in the home aquarium and will outgrow small aquariums quickly.

Conus species; Cone Snails:

This is a genus that every aquarist should recognize as some varieties are DEADLY TO HUMANS.
Conus is one the largest animal genus with several thousand described species, although many of these are now believed to be varieties of the same species and experts believe the true number of species is around 600, which still makes it a very large genus. Their body shape has named them as they are shaped like cones with the apex (pointed end) is the head or front of the animal. The aperture (opening) runs the length of the animal and is often slit like. They are quite heavy and range in size from the size of acorns to the size of a mans fist. They are found in all tropical seas in shallow waters on reefs, reef flats and reef sand beds.
Feeding: All cones are predatory animals and often specialize in one of three groups: worms, snails, or fishes. They spear their prey with a harpoon-like tooth that functions like a hypodermic needle. When approaching their prey, the tooth is released from an internal quiver, is passed out of the mouth and gripped by the tubular proboscis which surrounds the mouth like a long tubular lip. When the prey moves close enough internal muscles fill the tooth with a neurotoxin venom. The tooth is rammed into the prey which quickly dies and is eaten. This tooth can penetrate gloves and wetsuits. Cones are typically slow moving, usually inches per day, but when they attack it is with fury and quickness.
Dangers: Most cones are harmless to aquarists and will live well in normal reef aquarium conditions, especially the worm eating varieties which can live on a steady diet of earthworms. The snail eating varieties will slowly track down, sting and remove all grazing snails from a tank. Here’s where it gets tricky. The fish eating variety, Conus geographus, Conus striatus conus textile (pictured above) and several others, have an exceptionally deadly venom and if you are stung by one There is a very good chance you will die as the poison is very rapid and there is no known antivenin. These snails should not be kept by amateur aquarists. Fortunately they are easily recognized as their shells tend to flare widely and noticeably at the narrow (business) end. Their shells are often colored with a mottled or fine chevron pattern and are typically brown or chestmut on white or tan. This pattern is also found on some non deadly varieties but it is best to err on the side of caution. They occasionally come in as hitchhikers on live rock and if you find one and believe it is the fish eating variety it may be picked up with a pair of tongs or pliers grasping the blunt end of the animal and face it away from you. Dispose of it humanely by freezing.
This concludes my research on snails. I hope you have found it as enlightening and possibly entertaining as I have.

[fishnu]

Great post. Just curious, do you know what those little 1 cm sea snails with pointed ends are, like a turritella? The aquarium I bought must have had 200 little shells of these puppies in it.

[framerguy]

Originally Posted by fishnu

Great post. Just curious, do you know what those little 1 cm sea snails with pointed ends are, like a turritella? The aquarium I bought must have had 200 little shells of these puppies in it.

got pics?

[framerguy]

Another "fun" bit of trivia; the Conus geographus is AKA the Cigarette snail since if you are stung by one you have about enough time to smoke a cigarette before you die.
Also, last October I brought home from the Gulf of Mexico a snail eating variety of cone snail thinking it was a cowrie. Those babies move like lightening when they are after snails, let me tell ya. Glad he didn't sting me! I am much wiser now.

[AQTCJAK]

sounds like the blue ring octopus I get every once in awhile

[SubRosa]

I must strongly disagree with the statement that all invertebrates are sensitive to changes in water chemistry and need to be acclimated for 3 hours.Many species commonly kept in our tanks such as Mexican Turbo Snails,Blue Leg Hermits,and Cerith Snails are collected in tide pools(I brought back hundreds of self collected Ceriths and Blue Legs from the Keys last spring)and as such are routinely exposed to rapid and drastic changes in salinity and temperature.My normal acclimation for these creatures is to open the canopy of the tank and see how far back I can stand and still throw them into the tank.That's a joke of course,but you get the point.These animals will sit in a small pool of water,or even out of the water baking in the sun.The temp goes up,evaporation increases and the salinity goes up.All of a sudden a wave makes it far enough ashore to overrun the pool and instantly all parameters are back to NSW.There are enough things for us to spend our time on with our tanks that are critical to success.Acclimating creatures that don't need it isn't one of them.

[framerguy]

Thanks for the feedback. Several different authors with Phd's and years of experience tell me otherwise, so I'll go with their advice.

[GeeWizzItsMe]

I also wonder. If these snails can survive after taking them out of the water completely, it makes me wonder...

[framerguy]

many (probably all) animals adapt to their environment. A cirith snail that lives in tide pools with naturally have the ability to adjust to changes because they must to survive. A cirith that doesn't come from tidepools will not have that ability. I usually don't know where the animals in my LFS or online were collected, therefore I think I would err on the side of caution and acclimate a long time. If you hand pick your animals from a tidepool, you can pretty much figure they have the ability to adapt, so stand as far as you want from your tank and throw them in. I would like to give my animals the very best chance for survival that I can and if acclimating a long time gives me piece of mind, I'm gonna do it.

[cracker]

If collecting critters from a tidal pool , mangrove stand ,under a dock at the marina , boat ramp or even from an online source . Consider testing the difference between the water they were collected/arrived in from the water you intend to put them . This will dictate acclimation time. These critters are tough & have been around a lot longer than we have!

[tbittner]

You get blue ring octopus in???